Shadows And Strings
by arisuali
Summary: Arriving back totally drained from a failed mission, Shikamaru is surprised to hear that a certain sand shinobi wants to see him... Shika/Kuro. Rated T for gayness atm but rating could go up depending on my mood XD
1. An Unusual Request

**OK, another really weird pairing, and for that I apologise. I seem to be to drawn to creating relationships between shinobi who don't actually speak to each other much or at all. This is partly due to a friend of mine who has declared these guys her current favourites, and partly due to the fact that they're both just so damn cool.**

**What can I say? There is no excuse.**

**Shikamaru is surprisingly easy to write. And that probably means that I've got his character completely wrong.**

**A fair amount of this is taken from actual anime/manga dialogue, so apologies to those who were reading it thinking "I know all this! What the hell?!" I was trying to make it as authentic as possible to compensate for the odd pairing... (lol)**

**This will be a series, if I can actually write more. I've got a SasuNaru fic on the go as well that I should really make my first priority, so sorry if it takes a while for me to update ^^; If anyone actually decides to read this, that is XD**

**Disclaimer: All named characters do not belong to me and the Naruto franchise itself is not mine.**

**If you do end up reading this, I'd really appreciate a review =D**

* * *

"Pretty good, huh?" Temari grinned, looking in equal parts awesome and terrifying. Not bad – for a girl, anyway.

_Oh well, _Shikamaru thought, shrugging mentally with a smile. _I guess this time I should be grateful she's so scary._

"Kankuro says hi, by the way," the Suna kunoichi added, fastening her fan back onto her shoulders. It was a casual enough comment, but something about her expression made the newly-appointed chunin feel uneasy.

"Uh...OK, I guess..." he responded slowly, more than a little confused as to why the puppet master would bother to acknowledge him. From what he knew of the sand ninja, they weren't the type to try and make friends. And besides, he and Kankuro barely knew each other, aside from a little mutual observation during the chunin exams. In fact, Shikamaru couldn't remember them ever exchanging any words, friendly or otherwise.

Maybe he was just overanalysing a simple – if unexpected – greeting, but something about it screamed troublesome. And after a chakra-draining battle for his life, troublesome was _not _what he needed right now.

"Come on," Temari said, jerking him out of speculation. "We'd better head back to Konoha, get your wounds looked at."

"But Naruto–"

"Idiot, you're completely drained of chakra. If you continued after Sasuke right now, you'd be about as useful as a doll."

"Fine, fine," Shikamaru relented, deciding arguing was too much trouble. He staggered a little with exhaustion when he tried to move, which just make Temari grin wider.

"Need me to carry you?"

"No way," the chunin replied shortly, crouching down and preparing to spring to the next branch. "A man never admits weakness in front of a woman."

The blonde girl merely snorted in reply, but Shikamaru noticed that she kept a close eye on him as they began the long trek back to the leaf village.

***

When they arrived, it was pandemonium. Most of the medic nin they encountered were rushing about, desperately fetching ingredients for medicines and books of remedies. One nurse found time to splint Shikamaru's broken finger and tend to his more serious cuts, explaining the situation as she did so. Kiba was badly wounded, but his condition wasn't life-threatening and – although it would take a while – he looked set to make a full recovery. But Choji and Neji...

***

Shikamaru paid a brief visit to Kiba, then spent most of his time sitting outside in the hospital corridor, only leaving when he had to, returning as fast as possible, dreading bad news or – almost as bad – no news at all. For hours (he'd lost track of the time by now), all he'd known was that in one room, Lady Tsunade was working desperately to halt the erosion of the cells in Choji's body and in another, Shizune and a group of other medic ninja were channelling chakra into Neji, using his hair as a focal point, trying to keep him alive.

The uncertainty of the fate of his teammates was slowly driving the chunin insane. He twiddled his fingers as he waited, guilt eating away at him, Temari sitting with him as constant, silent company. He had been responsible for them, should have been able to protect them, should have planned things better, should have–

"Come on," Temari said suddenly, speaking for the first time in hours. "It doesn't help anyone, working yourself up. With every mission comes sacrifice. You've had psychological training."

Shikamaru was startled at first, but his surprise quickly turned to annoyance, and he glared at the sand kunoichi.

"There's a big difference between training and doing," he told her, not bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice. "I've been on missions before...I thought I knew what it was like to be a shinobi. I..." he faltered, briefly reminded of the danger his comrades were in, but then cleared his throat and continued. "This was the first time I was named cell leader. It helped me realise..." Again he paused, wondering how to voice the fact he'd been mulling over for hours, eventually deciding that it was best to put it bluntly. "I'm not cut out to be a shinobi."

There was a short silence, while Temari debated this pessimistic conclusion. Then she snorted, tone full of disdain, "Well, look at mister delicate. You call yourself a man?"

Ignoring the jibe, Shikamaru got to his feet. "As a cell leader, all I could do was put my trust in them. I was too naive...inadequate for the task. This is all my fault."

"So, you're afraid of getting hurt?" the blonde girl's voice came from behind him, still laced with derision. The chunin didn't bother to reply, instead making towards the exit, focused on nothing except getting out as quickly as possible.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" a difference voice called out from his right, halting him. "So, when a girl whips her tongue, you turn tail?"

With reluctance, Shikamaru turned to face his father. "I don't have the energy right now for quarrelling, that's all," he said shortly. "That's what women do. And I'm not a woman, all right?"

"No," Shikaku agreed, glowering at his son, "but you're not much of a man either. You're just a coward." The chunin bristled, but said nothing. "Whether you're here or not, the missions will continue. And someone has to carry them out. They'll send your friends, just under a different leader. It's just the way these things work. They'll be no less likely to die then, but maybe, if you're their leader, your friends will survive."

Shikamaru's chest began to ache. There was nothing he wanted more than to just carry on walking, through the doors, away from all of this, but his feet seemed to be rooted to the floor.

"You made it back," Shikaku continued. "Reflect on what happened this time and learn from the experience. Then your next mission will be perfect." There was a brief pause while he allowed his words to sink in. "If you really care about your friends, then instead of running away, you should set your mind to improving yourself. Isn't that how friends are supposed to behave?"

His father was right, the chunin knew that. And immediately he felt disgusted with himself for the way he'd behaved, shirking responsibility, turning back at the first sign of failure instead of learning from his mistakes, the way a good shinobi was supposed to.

At that moment, a door slid open behind him – the door to Choji's room – and he recognised the voice of Lady Tsunade as she said the words he'd been hoping for but never expected to hear, "He's going to be just fine."

Intense relief flooded through Shikamaru, causing the tears already in his eyes to gradually spill over. It was for this reason that he didn't turn around, keeping his back to the group as the Hokage congratulated his father on the family medicine guide, refusing to show his weakness in front of the most powerful kunoichi in the village and the best female genin he'd ever fought with.

"Lady Tsunade!" At the cry and the sound of running feet, the chunin stiffened, fearing the worst. It was Shizune's voice – she was overseeing Neji's treatment...

"Neji Hyuga is out of the danger zone!" she announced, sounding exhausted but triumphant. Shikamaru let out a long breath. _They're OK..._

"What's more," Shizune continued, "I've just received word that Kakashi Hatake and Naruto Uzumaki returned a moment ago. Naruto is injured, but his life isn't in danger."

Mixed feelings at these words. He was pleased about Naruto, of course, but there had been no mention of Sasuke. And that meant...

"Shikamaru, your mission was a failure."

The words hit him with the force of a blow. Trembling, he bowed his head as more tears overflowed down his cheeks.

"And yet you all survived," Tsunade went on. "I can't ask for more."

"Next time..." Shikamaru shakily drew breath, fighting back sobs with difficulty, "...the mission will be perfect. I swear it."

***

Although they were in a stable condition, Choji and Neji were still very weak and weren't allowed visitors. Shikamaru spent a short time talking to Tsunade, before the Hokage told him to go and see Naruto. The genin looked exhausted, but was sitting up when Shikamaru went in. The chunin told him about the others, before tentatively asking about Sasuke. In reply, Naruto shook his head. "He's gone."

Sakura came in then, followed by Tsunade, and the expression on Naruto's face was almost painful. It was obvious how guilty he felt, even though he'd tried his utmost to prevent Sasuke from leaving. Shikamaru needn't have worried though, because Naruto quickly returned to his usual determined self, declaring that he would keep his promise, even as Sakura told him to forget it.

"I never go back on my word," the blonde grinned, "because that's my shinobi way."

You had to smile when faced with an expression like that.

Sakura made for the door, and Shikamaru prepared himself to comfort Naruto if she made some hurtful comment on the way out, but the words that left the leaf kunoichi's mouth almost floored him, they were so unexpected.

"Naruto, I'm sorry. You'll need to wait for a while, but next time I'm coming with you."

And with that brave declaration, she left.

***

Shikamaru stretched and yawned, heading along the path in the direction of his house. He felt calm for the first time in a long while, like he could finally get some rest. At least, he was calm until he noticed that there was a figure blocking his way, some feet ahead of him.

"What's up?" he asked Temari, grateful to her for keeping him company, but still hoping that whatever she wanted him for, it wouldn't require an extreme amount of effort.

"I've been asked to detain you," she replied, looking vaguely annoyed, like she was being commanded against her will. "Come with me."

"What?" Shikamaru almost laughed. "Look, no offence or anything, but I really don't have time to mess around with girls right now." He made to get round her, but the kunoichi stuck out an arm to stop him.

"Sorry, I'm following orders." Again she scowled – obviously not impressed with either the command or whoever was making it. Most likely both. "I don't want to force you, but you know that I can. I'm much stronger than you, at least at the moment."

"Who's asking you to do this?" The chunin asked her, eyes narrowing. This felt like a trap, although he couldn't believe that the sand ninja would switch alliances again so quickly.

"I can't tell you," Temari shrugged. "But I can say that you probably won't get hurt. Whereas you will if you don't do what I'm telling you."

"How far is it?" The more Shikamaru heard, the more reluctant he was. "If it's outside Konoha then you can forget it. I may be tired, but I'm not stupid."

"Chill out, little man," the blonde scoffed. "You'll still be well within the village boundaries. I'm not your enemy. My village has cut all ties with the Sound Village since Orochimaru murdered my father. You'll be perfectly safe. Most likely," she added, and Shikamaru could have done without the afterthought.

_What a drag._

"Fine," he agreed eventually, dismissing further argument as too much effort. "I don't like it, but I'll come with you."

"Smart move," she smirked, before turning away from him and leaping into the trees, leaving him to follow and wonder who the hell would be so secretive about seeing him.

He was running on his last reserves, so he was thankful when they stopped after a few minutes, having arrived at a clearing where a black-clad shinobi was waiting, leaning casually against a tree.

And of all the people, this was the last one Shikamaru would have expected.

"He's all yours, Kankuro," Temari told her brother, giving Shikamaru a mock salute before disappearing out of sight. The sand shinobi merely stood there, regarding him with a nonchalant expression and remaining silent. After about a minute, Shikamaru felt a twinge of annoyance. It had been a long couple of days. He was exhausted and desperately needed sleep. This wasn't the time to play games.

"So what is it?" he asked finally, crossing his arms and fixing Kankuro with a cool stare. He didn't like this – either the secretive meeting or the ninja who had arranged it. "You've gone through quite a lot of trouble to get me here."

"Guess so," the older teen replied, but that was all he said, which further infuriated the chunin.

"What the hell do you want?" he snapped, finally losing patience. "If you're just planning to stand and stare at me then I'm leaving."

"If you try to leave then I'll stop you." There was no menace in the sand nin's voice, only pure fact. Shikamaru glowered at him, but he seemed unperturbed.

"I thought you weren't my enemy."

"I'm not. If I was, I'd have attacked you by now, wouldn't I?"

True. But there was something weird going on here, the leaf nin could sense it. And whatever it was, it couldn't be good. The secluded surroundings weren't comforting, for starters. The glint in Kankuro's eye wasn't exactly reassuring either.

Hang on. Wait.

Oh _f–_

Shikamaru realised exactly what was going on about a second before he was grabbed roughly and shoved against a tree, hot lips roughly covering his own.

And OK, his first impression should probably have been something like 'What the fuck, get this dude off of me'. But, if he was honest, what he actually thought was the much shorter, slightly more eloquent but infinitely more complicated _Whoa..._

Because, although this was his first kiss and therefore he didn't really have the experience to be able to compare, the chunin thought that if he'd had other kisses and if he had chosen to compare them, then this would probably blow all the others away. There was no doubt that Kankuro was either a natural at this or had had a lot of practice, and Shikamaru suspected – as strong hands pinned his wrists up above his head – that it was more likely to be the latter.

The sand nin's teeth bit into Shikamaru's bottom lip, and the Konoha shinobi found that this resulted in some very interesting stirrings somewhere around the region of his stomach. From that point on, it didn't really bother him that he had no idea what he was doing, because some other part of his psyche pushed his reason aside and he began to kiss back, trying to imitate some of the techniques Kankuro was using on him and he guessed by the fact that the Suna ninja's hands tightened around his arms that he wasn't doing too badly, for a novice.

Then the puppet master let him go, which Shikamaru was quite put out about really, but he decided not to let on and also not to jump on Kankuro and continue, which was another all-too-tempting option.

"I'm going to be here for the next three months," the sand shinobi told him, make-up slightly smudged around his mouth, which was far too distracting, "and during that time we're going to have a relationship."

"Like hell we are," Shikamaru scoffed, not really serious but feeling like he should at least pretend to put up a fight.

Kankuro merely raised his eyebrow. "Really? From what I could tell, you weren't all that anxious to get away."

"You jumped me when I was defenceless. I didn't have the energy to get away. Besides, even if I had, you'd just have caught me and dragged me back again."

"Fair point," the other conceded, smirking. "But still. You're a smart guy. I'm sure you know that I'm stronger than you, at least physically, so there's not much point in disagreeing with me. And I bet that you already know that I won't back down on this, and also that, if you're honest, you don't really want me to, do you?"

"What do you know," Shikamaru said, drawing a couple of fingers across his lips, not really surprised when they came away stained purple. "Guess you're smarter than you look."

"Funny." The grin the chunin received was unexpectedly genuine. "Well, at least we both know where things stand."

"What a drag." Sighing, the leaf ninja put his hands in his pockets. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"Not really."

Calling on the little energy he had left, Shikamaru moved fast, catching Kankuro off guard with a fierce kiss, before pulling back with a grin.

"Until we meet again, I guess," he told the sand nin casually, heading off in the direction of the village with Kankuro's amused laugh echoing pleasantly in his ears.

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**Until next time *bows* Hope you liked it =)**


	2. A Reminder Can't Hurt

**Hello again ^^**

**I was actually thinking about scrapping this story, when I got a review =) Which was nice (thank you very much, btw). And so I thought I may as well carry on with it. (It doesn't take much, you see.)**

**It had nothing to do with the fact that I love this pairing right now, of course, I swear XD**

**But yep, here's the next chapter. And reviews will get you another one faster. So I encourage you to do so ;)**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned these characters. But I don't. That's just the way it is.**

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"I don't remember this being part of the arrangement." Arms folded, eyes narrowed, Shikamaru Nara observed the sand genin perched on the end of his bed, looking far too at home for his liking.

"At least you're admitting that we have an arrangement," Kankuro countered, eyes darting around the room, committing all of the objects to memory – these were the things that made up the leaf shinobi's life.

"And yet, for the life of me, I can't remember why." The chunin sounded drained as he massaged the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger. Kankuro couldn't really blame him – he'd been through a lot after all, and in fact he'd been pretty surprised to find him awake. "I know I was tired and everything, but it's not like me to become involved with someone so troublesome."

"You think I'm troublesome?" The puppet master mulled the word around in his head, a grin forming as he discovered that he rather liked it. The force of Shikamaru's unimpressed look increased.

"It wasn't a compliment. And yeah, this whole damn thing is troublesome."

"You kissed me back," Kankuro reminded him, which was more than a fair point in his opinion.

"True, but I have no idea what possessed me to do it."

The corner of the Konoha nin's mouth twitched slightly, and Kankuro let his smirk widen. Oh yeah, like hell Shikamaru didn't know. Whether he would admit it or not, though...

"You don't, huh?" He decided to play along. "Well, why do you think you did it?"

"I told you. No idea."

Whatever. It was no fun if Shikamaru wouldn't take the bait. "I could always remind you," the sand ninja said softly, deciding to aim for seduction instead, injecting just the right amount of invitation into his tone and surreptitiously moving his hand over the chunin's as he did so. Shikamaru merely continued to fix him with that apathetic stare. Kankuro wasn't discouraged, though – the cool indifference was one of the many things about the leaf nin that he found so intriguing. With a shrug, he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to the other boy's, free hand rising to rest on the side of the leaf nin's face.

Well, Shikamaru hadn't exactly agreed to it. But then he hadn't really said no either. Not that it would have made much difference if he had, because Kankuro would have kissed him anyway. It didn't pay to be all talk and no action, particularly if you were a shinobi. That title gave you a reputation to hold up.

Anyway, compliant or not, once again, he didn't seem to be making any effort to get away. Quite the contrary in fact, as fingers clutched a handful of his hair – his hood was lying forgotten on the covers next to them – and a tongue slid into his mouth, the sudden warmth and pressure taking him by surprise.

Then the other pulled away, leaving Kankuro bewildered and more than a little put out, but the feeling was slightly mollified when Shikamaru leaned his forehead against the sand shinobi's and let out a long sigh.

"What a drag..."

"Oh thanks," Kankuro huffed, only half serious because long, slender fingers were still wrapped around his own.

"No, that's not what I meant." Another sigh. "Why'd you pick me?"

"What do you mean?" It seemed like a good idea to feign ignorance, but Shikamaru was having none of it.

"Come on, Kankuro." This was the first time the chunin had said his name, and it created a feeling not unlike first-crush giddiness. "Don't play stupid when I know you're not."

"You're interesting," the genin found himself replying honestly. "Most people are fairly easy to read, but not you. At a glance, you're lazy, but you're pretty damn smart too. And then there's that attitude of yours...I don't know – you just appeal to me."

The ghost of a smirk appeared on Shikamaru's lips, before the leaf nin laced his hands in Kankuro's hair again, pulling him in for a kiss that was devastating in its intensity.

"You'll get bored of me," Shikamaru said when they broke away, voice a hoarse whisper that sent shivers over the puppet master's skin. "I'm a pretty simple guy. I doubt I'll keep you entertained for long."

"If you keep kissing me like that then I'll never get bored," Kankuro murmured, pressing his mouth the chunin's neck. The Konoha nin laughed huskily in response.

"And if you keep feeding me lines like that then you'll be out on your butt so fast, you won't know what hit you."

"You're gonna throw me out?" Kankuro challenged, moving lower so that he was sucking on the hollow of Shikamaru's throat. "I'd like to see you try. I'm way stronger than you. We've been through this, haven't we?"

"My _mom _will throw you out," the chunin told him, a hint of daring in his voice, and Kankuro actually pulled back in disbelief.

"You're going to tell your _mom_?!" he asked incredulously, torn between laughter and wariness – he was unsure as to which was the more appropriate reaction – as Shikamaru gave a solemn nod.

"If you don't behave yourself." The serious expression on the leaf nin's face soon turned into a wicked grin as he pulled Kankuro back down.

The sand nin wanted to ask him to define 'behave', but there really didn't seem to be much point in moving away from the strong, lithe body currently pressed against his own. Shikamaru was responding enthusiastically as he ran hands along the chunin's sides, under the black T-shirt and netting that was all well and good, it looked nice and everything, but at the moment it was just getting in the way. So Kankuro took it off – a nice, simple solution – moving back a few inches so that he could basically ravage that smooth, toned chest with his eyes, moving swiftly on to ravaging it with fingers and tongue, which proved to be a lot more satisfying, not least because Shikamaru was emitting the kind of noises that made blood shoot straight south. And that, coincidentally, was the area that the younger boy's hand seemed to be inching towards.

"Hey..." Kankuro managed to remember how to work his vocal chords, despite the fact that warm fingers were trailing down from his belly button. It was distracting, to say the least. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" God, that smirk was so suggestive it was probably illegal. "You know, your make-up's kind of smudged."

"Looks like half of it's on your face," the puppet master remarked dryly, fighting hard to control his voice as Shikamaru drew his thumb over the (now very prominent) front of his underwear.

Fine. Two could play at that game.

* * *

**Pfft, yeah, what a place to leave it XD**

**I have plans for this slash. It will involve another time skip (and anyone who's read my SasuNaru stuff will probably be rolling their eyes at this point), but it will be good, promise. And it will make actual sex possible because, you know, they're a bit young here.**

**Anyway, hope you liked it and that you'll be willing to read more if/when I next post =D**

**Until we meet again... ~**


	3. Meeting And Greeting

**An update! And fairly promptly, too. Don't faint from shock now XD**

**I actually had the idea of Kiba being introduced to Kankuro as 'Gaara's Boyfriend' stashed away for quite some time before I started writing it out, randomly. At 3:30am. After a healthy dose of Kankuro/Sakon fighting. And then, midway through, I got the idea to turn it into a chapter for this fic.**

**So, yep, we've skipped forward four years. Which makes Shikamaru seventeen and Kankuro nineteen. And therefore they are both far more eligible for doing sexy things. Yay.**

**Sorry it's so short. Like, absurdly short.**

**But I'll try and get more posted up asap. It'll get done faster if you review. It's serious motivation for me to know that someone's interested in my crappy writing ;)**

**Anyway. There it is.**

**Disclaimer: God, I wish I was epic enough to own this. But I'm not. So I don't.**

* * *

"Do I really have to do this? I mean, I've already met the guy."

"Yes, but not properly. It's important for you to be formerly introduced."

"But what if he tries to beat me up or something?"

Kankuro's smirk widened – obviously the owners of the voices didn't realise he could hear them. Sound travelled well here, though – a fact which should have been remembered and taken into account.

He was lounging on the Kazekage's throne in the main hall, waiting for his brother to present him with one Kiba Inuzuka – the guy who'd caused more trouble for him over the past few months than most other people had in his lifetime. Because of this chunin, Gaara was finding excuses to visit Konoha at least once a month, leaving him in charge. It was annoying, to say the least, and he wouldn't have accepted the responsibility for anyone else. Inuzuka had also been the reason for Gaara's foul moods during the times when, for whatever reason, he couldn't leave Suna to 'train' his dog-boy. Kankuro had pointed out many times that the leaf shinobi should just come over from Konoha – surely it must be considerably easier for him to get away than it was for Gaara – but apparently the little chunin had been too chicken to show his face. Man, it had been a while since he'd scared someone with his reputation alone.

Shifting around a little, he managed to get somewhat comfortable on the stone seat. It wasn't really necessary for him to be meeting Inuzuka whilst towering above him in the centre of the city. He probably could have made things a lot easier for the boy by arranging to meet him in a restaurant or even just in one of the less grand rooms.

But where was the fun in that?

This guy had to realise the importance of his position. As the Kazekage's love interest, he would be more susceptible to attacks from enemy ninja, kidnapping, even torture. Plus he had to make things at least a little difficult, so that he could know whether the leaf nin was serious about this. For Gaara's sake.

And also because it would be entertaining.

Gaara had looked understandably exasperated when he'd demanded to sit on the throne, asking whether this was "really necessary, as Kiba's nervous as hell already?" But Kankuro had insisted so strongly that the redhead had eventually been forced to give in, although he'd flat out refused his brother's request to borrow his hat and robes as well.

Mastering puppets had given Kankuro a taste for the theatrical. And it coincided with his cruel streak quite nicely.

"Come on," he could hear Gaara saying now, accompanied by what sounded like dragging sounds. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go to my room. For the rest of the day. Completely uninterrupted."

_Jeez_, Kankuro thought, rolling his eyes. _Talk about obvious._

"God, could you two make it any more obvious that you're screwing? Considering you're trying to keep this quiet, you might want to tone it down a little? Just a thought."

This voice was a lazy drawl, one that sounded familiar. Really familiar. Even though it had been at least four years since he'd last heard it.

No way...

The double doors swung open, revealing Gaara, wearing his usual apathetic expression, and the Inuzuka kid, who was blushing furiously and looked – as his brother had said – nervous as hell. But he needn't have worried – Kankuro's attention was fixed exclusively on the figure behind them, fingers casually laced beneath his spiky ponytail.

"Shikamaru..." he breathed, hands clutching the arms of the chair, desperately grasping at anything solid to counter the strange, light feeling taking over his body.

"Hey Kankuro," the Nara said, with that smirk that still played on his mind far more often than was sensible. "Long time no see."

* * *

**Thanks for reading. Hope it wasn't too much of a letdown, but this is where I wanted to leave things, so...**

**I'll do my best to make the next chapter longer...**

**Until then... ~**


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